A peek into roaring success of Petronas in F1 arena
ALTHOUGH the curtain has finally fallen on Sepang’s Formula One campaign, the encore goes on as Malaysia’s story with the world’s most notable motorsports spectacle has yet to reach its end.
To celebrate Sepang International Circuit’s (SIC) 19 years of Formula One involvement and to delve more into the next chapter of Malaysia’s relationship with the Formula One, media members of Sabah, Sarawak and the East Coast were invited by Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas) for a media trip to Kuala Lumpur.
The trip, which was held from September 29 to October 2, had taken media members to various Petronas facilities around the capital city, where they were briefed on the latest technologies and initiatives of Petronas.
On the second day of the trip, media members visited the Petronas Research Centre Sdn Bhd (PRSB), the new and refined Petronas Station at Sri Hartamas as well as the world-renowned Petronas Twin Towers.
As most people are aware, Petronas is the principal technical resource behind the design and development of fuel, lubricants and functional fluids for the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport team.
It is understood that these products are first formulated and developed at PRSB and the Petronas Lubricants International (PLI) in Italy before it is tested at the Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport headquarters and Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in United Kingdom.
For Formula One this year, Petronas had introduced an improved Petronas Syntium engine oil and Petronas Primax at the Australia and Canada Grand Prix, respectively.
Petronas products have contributed to the team’s triple constructors and drivers world championships, from 2014 to 2016.
At PRSB, media members were also given the opportunity to sit for a talk given by Chan Ming Yau, who is the Principal (Fuel Technology) for Petronas.
The talk entitled ‘Petronas Fluid Technology Solutions: Lifeblood for Efficiency, Performance and Reliability’, mainly focused on Petronas’ products such as fuel, lubricants and functional fluids.
“Although Malaysia’s Formula One journey ends this year, our (Petronas) story continues because we are still continuing our product with Formula One and Mercedes,” he asserted.
The race might have ended for Malaysia but its people are the real winners as they are the ones who will reap the benefits sown by the relationship between Petronas and Mercedes, he stressed.
During the talk, Chan also addressed some of the frequently asked questions on the topic of petrol, diesel and lubricants.
“The Petronas Primax 95 is for efficiency while the Petronas Primax 97 is for acceleration,” he said in advising users on how to differentiate the two, adding that the Primax 95 cleans the engine, while the Primax 97 protects the engine. When asked whether the fuel used for the Formula One is the same as the one people use everyday for their cars, Chan said the answer is yes.
“Both use the same ingredients, just different proportions. The chemistry is the same,” he added.
What is even more interesting about fuel is the fact that it can be experimented in so many different ways.
“Many years ago, we thought of making the fuel smell better. However, we thought to ourselves that it could be dangerous because people might end up smelling it,” he quipped.
Although Petronas is more well known for its relationship with Formula One, Chan revealed that Petronas’ Diesel products are also high in quality as it has been used in the Dakar Rally.
Petronas is the technical partner to IVECO in the Dakar Rally, one of the world’s most extraordinary reliability challenge, which the team won as champion in 2016 and 2012, second in 2014, third in 2017 and top 10 in 2015 and 2013.
When asked when the Dynamic Diesel Euro 5 will be officially introduced in East Malaysia, Chan said that it is coming soon.
“It is coming soon…This is all we can say because we are currently working on it. We want all of us in Malaysia to enjoy Diesel Euro 5,” he asserted.
Speaking on the topic of lubricants, Chan said, in order to determine when is the perfect time to change lubricants, the owner of the car has to refer to his car‘s Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) schedule.
“Every OEM will have a schedule. We have to follow the schedule because a car is designed as such,” Chan said, adding that newer cars which use newer lubricants tend to last longer as compared to older cars.
Media members were then brought to the Petronas Station at Sri Hartamas to learn more about the new concept of the Mesra convenience stores and to further understand why Formula One is so critical to Petronas.
They were briefed by Aadrin Azly, Head of Business Retail Division - Petronas Dagang Berhad, on the fuel concept.
“The three most important things about fuel are power, how it protects the engine and efficiency (how quickly it burns). A lot of people do not understand that the real key of a good fuel does not only relate to one particular factor. It is about the best combination of the three to create the best optimum fuel,” Aadrin said.
In drawing an example, Aadrin said that if you have too much power and it burns the fuel quickly, it will not be efficient.
“The best engine and the best fuel should be the one that can produce the best combination of the three (power, protection, efficiency). So that is why we believe our involvement in Formula One is extremely vital. This is because Formula One is the only sport that tests all three at the same time.
“For you to win Formula One you would have to go for 42 laps. The engine needs to be protected. Thus, the engine must have the right power, protection and efficiency.
“If people ask us why Petronas has the best fuel and lubricant, the answer lies in the fact that we had won the three previous Formula One championships,” Aadrin stressed.
Not only that Petronas’ strategic development with Formula One creates branding, but more importantly, it creates the test bed to take its fuel in the most gruelling and technologically advanced motorsports event in the world, he asserted.
The Petronas Media Relations then invited media members for dinner at the prestigious Malaysia Petroleum Club at the Petronas Twin Towers.
On the third day of the trip, media members were brought to SIC to witness the last ever Formula One race in Malaysia.